The MHSC enjoyed the privacy of a hidden dwarf planet they dubbed “Home.” The planet was obscured by the path of two dead gas giants. The precense of these giants succeeded in confusing long range sensors. Even if Home was accidentally picked up, even advanced sensors were known to classify it as space debris or an uninteresting asteroid. That meant the MHSC were free to use the whole planet to train for their missions.
The Forest- as it was uncreatively called- was like a labyrinth of towering trees, ancient and thick, their canopies blocking out most of the sunlight. The terrain wasn’t just challenging—it was nearly impassable in some areas, with fallen logs, thick underbrush, and rocky outcrops creating natural obstacles. To move through this area in a mech wasn’t just a test of piloting skills; it was a test of patience and awareness.
Standing at the edge of the forest, Avery Thompson adjusted his headset, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Drones are ready to go,” he said over the comms, glancing at the APC behind him. The vehicle towed a large collection of automated attack drones, all synced together. Avery had found a huge stockpile of them in the Vault below and enjoyed the opportunity to bruise the egos of the mechwarriors.
Troy sat in the cockpit of his Thunderbolt TDR-7SE, fingers resting lightly on the controls. The canopy of his cockpit gave him a clear view of the dense forest ahead. “So, we’re doing this in the thickest part, huh?” His tone was casual, but there was a hint of excitement in it. The Thunderbolt was a beast of a machine, 65 tons of reinforced Endo Steel, with layers of Ferro-Fibrous armor that could withstand serious punishment. With its Gauss rifle primed, Troy knew he’d have the range advantage, but this forest would limit his line of sight. Fortunately, the Thunderbolt also had medium pulse lasers in case things got up close and personal, and its jump jets gave it just enough mobility to make sure he didn’t get boxed in.
Perched on a ridge overlooking the area, Sarah scanned the battlefield from her Stormcrow—ahem—Ryoken. Inner Sphere pilots like Sarah still called it that, despite its true Clan name. The Stormcrow was a deadly machine, nimble but packing immense firepower. The P variant she piloted boasted medium pulse lasers and ER large lasers, weapons that could tear through armor with ease. The closer she got, the deadlier she became, but in the dense forest, she’d have to be careful not to let anyone get the drop on her.
On the far side of the field, Graham moved his Orion ON2-M cautiously through the underbrush. At 75 tons, it was one of the heavier mechs in the company, but Graham had learned to pilot it with surprising grace. The mech's LRM-15 launcher and Gauss rifle gave him long-range superiority, but the forest made missile locks difficult. He’d have to rely on his medium pulse lasers if the fight got too close, which was more likely in this terrain. The Orion’s armor was thick enough to take the hits if it came to that, and Graham liked knowing he could wade through fire to get his shot.
Marcus had already moved his Wolverine into the forest, its jump jets giving it an edge in the rough terrain. At 10 meters tall, the squat and muscular frame of the WVR-6M Wolverine seemed to blend into the environment despite its size. Its broad, armored legs were designed for stability on uneven ground, and the jump jets on its back were primed to help it leap over obstacles.
The Wolverine’s loadout was as versatile as the mech itself: a large Magna Mk III laser for long-range engagements, along with a pair of medium lasers mounted in the arms for close combat. It could handle almost anything, but it ran hot in intense combat, a limitation Marcus had learned to manage well. All pilots confirmed their radios were working, then confirmed they were ready to begin.
The comms crackled with Avery’s voice. “Alright, folks, drones are live in three… two… one.”
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The Forest came alive with the hum of remote-controlled drones, buzzing between trees and through the underbrush like angry hornets. Their erratic movement made them hard to target, and the thick canopy only added to the difficulty. They shot up and into the forest toward their targets.
Troy was the first to take a shot. His Thunderbolt’s Gauss rifle fired with a dull thunk, the slug hurtling through the air and obliterating a drone that had barely crested over a ridge. “One down,” he said, smirking. “But I’ve got a feeling they’re going to get a lot harder to hit.”
“You think?” Sarah’s voice came over the comms, amused. Her Stormcrow darted between trees, using the dense foliage for cover. Her ER large lasers flashed, but the drones were fast, and her shot only managed to singe the bark of a tree. “I’ll have to close the distance.”
As if to emphasize her point, Graham’s Orion trampled through the forest. His Gauss rifle fired, but the drone zigged just in time, and his shot tore through the canopy instead. “Visibility’s trash,” he muttered. “I’ll switch to pulse lasers.”
Meanwhile, Marcus’s Wolverine leaped over a fallen log, its jump jets flaring briefly as he repositioned. “Two drones headed your way, Jackal.” His targeting systems locked onto a third, and the large laser in his right arm flashed, vaporizing it mid-flight.
Avery grinned, unconcerned at the callout. He split them off, sending each a different direction to flank around the Thunderbolt. It was an impressive mech, a solid brick of steel meant to catch the fire of an enemy. But it was also slow. Avery swept the drones around, weaving them through the trees faster than Troy could turn the lumbering tank on legs. They pulled behind him and locked on target. A sensor in Troy’s cockpit indicated he had been hit, even though nothing was fired at him.
The training drones were glorious. Prototypes from before the fall of the Star League four hundred years ago that were locked in the Vault below the planet’s surface along with the other excavated equipment. Avery rigged them to send false readings of damage to whatever they shot at, so repairs wouldn’t have to be made. The onboard computers of the mechs would track the damage and the mechwarriors would, on their honor, act as if the damage displays were correct. Marcus was known to sometimes ‘accidentally’ use a weapon that the displays said had been disabled.
The drones circled around Troy, peppering him with unseen fire as he shot back with mixed success. Hitting a target going as fast as the drones was hard enough to act like its own kind of armor.
“I’m getting lit up over here!” Troy yelled into the comms “Hawk, Raven, I need some light backup!”
Both mechwarriors turned and urged their mechs into the direction their sensors told them their ally was in. Troy decided the best option was to book it into the trees, meet one of the medium mechs halfway. He decided that Sarah was the safer bet, she was a better shot than Marcus. He informed the pair of his intent.
“Vulture to Jackal,” came Graham’s voice “Turn on your ECM for Kerensky’s sake. It will disrupt Avery’s control of the drones.”
Troy slapped his forehead. “Right. Sorry, Vulture.” A caucophony of jabs and teasing came over the radio as Troy sheepishly switched on the Guardian ECM suite. The Drones wobbled and shot away from Troy, racing toward the radius limit of the countermeasures. Guardian Electronic Countermeasures disrupted many kinds of communications in its radius. The only thing it didn’t counter was reliable radio, so Troy had the pleasure of being made fun of by Sarah and Marcus for his lapse.
Avery frowned from his hidden spot. When he saw the Thunderbolt, he knew the machine’s countermeasures were off and tried to capitalize. Now he needed to regroup and-
Boom. A drone exploded in a sudden attack. The last drone swerved, avoiding laser fire that cut through the trees. The black and purple paint scheme of the Orion that Graham piloted was briefly seen before the drone raced away.
“One drone remaining. Avery is going to play conservatively, we need to box him in. Raven, flank right and try to force it back this way so Jackal and I can cut off its north and south exit. Hawk, lie in wait. We’ll send it toward you.”
In a coordinated effort, the drone made a u-turn back toward Sarah. She parked her Stormcrow behind some rocks and waited for her sensors to pick up the speeding drone. When the red dot showed, she hit the jump jets and flew straight up, firing her pulse lasers into the drone and downing it.
“Drone destroyed,” Avery called over the public channel, a hint of disappointment in his voice. “Training over.”